Hockey Team

SOCHI, Russia -- Finland's men's hockey team had a hard time finding replacements when standout NHL forwards Mikko Koivu of the Minnesota Wild and Valtteri Filppula of the Tampa Bay Lightning had to withdraw because of injuries. The team's first choice as an alternate, Florida Panthers forward Sean Bergenheim, declined the invitation even though it would have been his first Olympic appearance. He told the Miami Herald he thought he'd be better off using the NHL's Olympic break to rest and undergo rehabilitation on an abdominal injury.

It's time to retire Donald Sterling. Let the real estate magnate and Clippers owner take his millions and buy a hockey team. Then he won't have to worry about black superstars showing up for games on his girlfriend's arm. That's what seemed to set him off in what is alleged to be a recorded argument with his girlfriend, who had posted a picture of herself with Magic Johnson on her Instagram account. “It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you're associating with black people,” the man on the recording said.

Kings center Anze Kopitar's agreement to play for the second-tier Swedish team Mora Ishockeyclubb for the duration of the NHL lockout was finalized on Tuesday and he could play for the team as soon as this weekend, according to his agent, Pat Brisson. Kopitar was eager to join his younger brother Gasper with Mora, which is a member of the Hockey Allsvenskan league. Kopitar will be able to return to the Kings at the end of the NHL lockout. The Elitserien, the top Swedish league, has said it won't allow NHL players to play there on short-term contracts, a ruling that might be challenged.

If only New York had a large, disciplined group of government employees whose job it was to prevent giant fights. Law and order was briefly suspended on the ice at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Sunday when hockey players from the New York Police Department and the Fire Department of New York got into a bench-clearing brawl with one another during a charity game. The combat was well documented on social media by the crowd of fans in attendance, which both howled with boos and roared with delight, adding chants like "Dun-kin' Do-nuts!"

SOCHI, Russia - Canada's Olympic hockey selection committee snubbed speedy Tampa Bay Lightning forward Martin St. Louis when it submitted its Sochi roster a month ago. The committee didn't make that mistake again Thursday, when it had to find a replacement for injured Lightning center Steven Stamkos. St. Louis, the NHL's scoring champion last season, took the open spot hours after the Lightning said tests had showed that Stamkos had not fully healed from surgery he underwent in November to insert a rod in his broken leg. St. Louis' speed should be an asset to Team Canada on the Olympic-sized rink, which is 15 feet wider than NHL ice surfaces.

Team USA officials wanted speed and smarts for the hockey team that is going to the 2014 Sochi Games, which meant choosing the likes of Blake Wheeler and James van Riemsdyk for the roster. So why did they also invite a 67-year-old Canadian man? Actually, it was a mistake. In advance of announcing the team on Wednesday, officials sent text messages to the players. One of them was Ryan Kesler, an American who plays for the Vancouver Canucks. But Gord Miller of TSN tweeted that Kesler had changed his number and the Team USA text went to a senior citizen instead.

SOCHI, Russia -- The last time the United States' women's hockey team took the ice for a game in the Olympics, it left it following a heartbreaking loss in a bid for a gold medal. Team USA is determined to avenge that disappointment during the 2014 Winter Games and got off on the right foot Saturday when they defeated Finland, 3-1, in the opening game of the eight-team tournament at Shayba Arena in Sochi. Hilary Knight had a goal and an assist while Kelli Stack and Alex Carpenter also scored for the U.S., which peppered the top women's goaltender in the world, Noora Raty, with 43 shots.

SOCHI, Russia -- The team that bikes together, wins together, apparently. Players on Finland's men's hockey team rode bicycles from their accommodations to their tournament-opening game against Austria on Thursday at the Bolshoy Ice Dome, a trip of about seven minutes that took them through the Olympic Park and down memory lane. “It was different, you know?” Finland and Winnipeg Jets forward Olli Jokinen said, smiling. “I was asking a lot of the guys, 'When was the last time you took a bicycle to a game?

The sobering and straightforward account of a task force assigned to examine the culture and climate of the Boston University's men's hockey program was revealed in a letter and report on Wednesday on the website of BU President Robert Brown. "The Task Force concluded that the unique culture of men's ice hockey, played at the highest collegiate level, and the preeminent status of our team on campus contribute to a celebrity culture and an isolation of these athletes from the majority of our student body,” Brown said in the letter.

SOCHI, Russia - The U.S. men's hockey team advanced to the semifinals of the Olympic hockey tournament Wednesday with a solid 5-2 victory over the Czech Republic at Shayba Arena. Team USA's next opponent will be Canada, in a rematch of the 2010 gold medal game, won in overtime by Canada. U.S. defenseman Ryan Suter had three assists and James van Riemsdyk, Zach Parise, Phil Kessel, Dustin Brown and David Backes each scored goals to help the team move on. The Czechs, despite having to play a playoff qualifying game on Tuesday while the Americans enjoyed a bye into the quarterfinals, had the stronger legs early in the game.

SOCHI, Russia - When these are the rivalries - Canada facing the U.S. in one semifinal of the Olympic hockey tournament after Sweden plays Finland in the other - Xs and O's and detailed analysis have less to do with the outcome than pure, unfettered emotion. Asked whether the U.S. will try to take the middle of the ice away from Canada, which has won all four of its games despite modest production from its forwards, center David Backes laughed and insisted the question was too technical.

SOCHI, Russia - The U.S. men's hockey team advanced to the semifinals of the Olympic hockey tournament Wednesday with a solid 5-2 victory over the Czech Republic at Shayba Arena. Team USA's next opponent will be Canada, in a rematch of the 2010 gold medal game, won in overtime by Canada. U.S. defenseman Ryan Suter had three assists and James van Riemsdyk, Zach Parise, Phil Kessel, Dustin Brown and David Backes each scored goals to help the team move on. The Czechs, despite having to play a playoff qualifying game on Tuesday while the Americans enjoyed a bye into the quarterfinals, had the stronger legs early in the game.

SOCHI, Russia - The Sochi Olympics will continue without the Russian hockey team, which was stifled by Finland in a 3-1 quarterfinal loss Wednesday at the Bolshoy Ice Dome. Russia's elimination probably will dampen the Olympic passion of fans who saw this as a chance to recapture excellence not seen since the era of the old Soviet Union's Big Red Machine. Linemates Teemu Selanne, 43, and Mikael Granlund, 21, each scored and assisted on the other's goal as Finland advanced to a semifinal matchup Friday against Sweden, which Selanne called "our lovely rival.

SOCHI, Russia - The players never once cast a glance beyond the task at hand. The United States women's hockey team stayed true to its vow to take each game as it came, including a 6-1 semifinal win over Sweden on Monday that was uglier than the final score indicated. What's next for the U.S.? Here's looking at you, Canada. FRAMEWORK: Best images from Sochi As the whole world anticipated, including Olympic organizers who designed the tournament format to create this matchup, the U.S. will meet its neighbors to the North for the gold medal on Thursday.

SOCHI, Russia - The U.S. hockey team scaled a mountain by defeating Russia in a shootout. Coach Dan Bylsma immediately was concerned his team might fall off a cliff emotionally the next day against a lesser foe, Olympic first-timer Slovenia. He need not have worried. Winger Phil Kessel, thriving on the wide ice surface, scored twice in the first 4 minutes 33 seconds and completed a hat trick midway through the second period - all assisted by Joe Pavelski - as the U.S. rolled past plucky but overwhelmed Slovenia, 5-1, Sunday at Shayba Arena in its round-robin finale.

SOCHI, Russia - Showing few signs of a letdown after its emotional victory over Russia, the U.S. men's hockey team on Sunday rode a hat trick from Phil Kessel to a 5-1 victory over Slovenia at Shayba Arena in its final preliminary-round game. Ryan Miller of the Buffalo Sabres, starting in goal while Jonathan Quick got a day off, stopped 17 shots from the plucky but undersized and overwhelmed Slovenians until Marcel Rodman scored on a long blast with 17.6 seconds left in the third period.

SOCHI, Russia - The Sochi Olympics will continue without the Russian hockey team, which was stifled by Finland in a 3-1 quarterfinal loss Wednesday at the Bolshoy Ice Dome. Russia's elimination probably will dampen the Olympic passion of fans who saw this as a chance to recapture excellence not seen since the era of the old Soviet Union's Big Red Machine. Linemates Teemu Selanne, 43, and Mikael Granlund, 21, each scored and assisted on the other's goal as Finland advanced to a semifinal matchup Friday against Sweden, which Selanne called "our lovely rival.

The NHL's New York Islanders, unable to work out a deal to renovate or replace the Nassau Coliseum, announced Wednesday they will join the NBA's Nets in moving to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The Islanders announced a 25-year agreement to play in the new arena, which will seat only about 14,500 people for hockey. The move will take effect for the 2015-16 season. Cue the jokes about whether the NHL, which locked players out on Sept. 15 and on Tuesday declined an invitation from the players' union to restart negotiations, will have resumed play by the time the Islanders' move becomes official.

SOCHI, Russia - Slovenia's hockey team traveled a long and difficult road to qualify for the Olympics for the first time, a journey it had to make without help from its only NHL player, standout Kings center Anze Kopitar. But Team Slovenia on Saturday gave hope to every so-called lesser hockey nation by upsetting Slovakia for its first-ever Olympic hockey victory, a 3-1 decision that was well-executed and well-deserved. “It's definitely a big thing for Slovenian hockey,” said Kopitar, whose father, Matjaz, is the team's coach.

SOCHI, Russia -- The team that bikes together, wins together, apparently. Players on Finland's men's hockey team rode bicycles from their accommodations to their tournament-opening game against Austria on Thursday at the Bolshoy Ice Dome, a trip of about seven minutes that took them through the Olympic Park and down memory lane. “It was different, you know?” Finland and Winnipeg Jets forward Olli Jokinen said, smiling. “I was asking a lot of the guys, 'When was the last time you took a bicycle to a game?